Ferguson 'embarrassed' for Spurs

Sir Alex Ferguson says Tottenham face "embarrassment" for complaining to the Premier League over Manchester United being linked to Dimitar Berbatov.

A national newspaper quoted the United manager as saying he expected to sign Bulgaria striker Berbatov, 27.

But Ferguson denied the reports, saying: "I don't know where they got those quotes from, it wasn't from me.

"It's going to be very embarrassing for Spurs because the complaint appears to be on the basis of a story in a paper."

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy accused United of being hypocritical, given that the European Champions reported Real Madrid to governing body Fifa because they believed the Spanish champions were publicly courting Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

And the chairman said both United and Liverpool, who reportedly want to sign Spurs captain Robbie Keane, had behaved disrespectfully.

Levy said on Friday: "The public comments by Manchester United's manager, announcing that he has made an offer for Dimitar and is confident that the deal will go through with time working in their favour, is a blatant example of sheer arrogance and interference with one of our players."

Speaking after United's 1-1 draw against Kaizer Chiefs in a Cape Town friendly, Ferguson added: "It's embarrassing for them but you know what Daniel Levy is like. He's different.

"It's something to ask chief executive David Gill about because I haven't really spoken to him about it because I've been preparing for the match."

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.